B.C. economy loses a few thousand jobs, while Canada sheds 28,900 in April

Tiffany Crawford, Vancouver Sun05.09.2014

British Columbia’s economy shed a few thousand jobs in April, but it wasn’t hit as hard as the overall Canadian economy, which unexpectedly lost 28,900 jobs in April, suffering its biggest employment drop since December 2013.Aaron Lynett
/ National Post

The latest labour-market data says the Canadian economy unexpectedly lost 28,900 net jobs in April, suffering its biggest employment drop since December 2013.COLLEEN KIDD
/ STERLING NEWS SERVICE

The latest labour-market data says the Canadian economy unexpectedly lost 28,900 net jobs in April, suffering its biggest employment drop since December 2013.Aaron Harris
/ Bloomberg

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British Columbia’s economy shed a few thousand jobs in April, but it wasn’t hit as hard as the overall Canadian economy, which unexpectedly lost 28,900 jobs in April, suffering its biggest employment drop since December 2013.

B.C. lost 3,700 jobs, mostly full-time positions, according to April’s Labour Force Survey. The province’s unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged at 5.8 per cent.

The federal agency described B.C.’s economy in April as “stable” with some declines in construction, finance, insurance and real estate, professional and scientific services and accommodation and food services. Those declines were offset by some part-time jobs added in business, building and other support services, health care and social assistance and various other sectors like cleaning, repairs and maintenance.

Statistics Canada found the national unemployment rate remained at 6.9 per cent for the second straight month, suggesting that some Canadians had given up looking for work.

Economists had anticipated an increase of 12,000 jobs for April, according to Thomson Reuters. The last time the Canadian economy saw such a drop was December 2013, when it lost 44,000 jobs.

The April job losses follow a gain of 42,900 net new jobs in March, which means 14,000 jobs were added over the two-month period. The report also showed that 30,900 full-time jobs were lost in April, compared with the addition of 2,000 positions in part-time employment.

The report found there were 27,100 fewer jobs held by young Canadians aged 15-24, while the youth unemployment rate stayed put at 13.4 per cent.

The biggest April loss struck the accommodation and food services industry, where 32,200 fewer people found work.

Employment in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing dropped by 19,400, while jobs were created for the second consecutive month in business, building and other support services, which saw an increase of 26,100.

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B.C. economy loses a few thousand jobs, while Canada sheds 28,900 in April

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